On December 16, JD.com held a press conference in Beijing titled “Luxury Cruise Tours to Japan and Korea – An Ultimate Spring Festival with JD” and the launch ceremony for the 2015 Ultimate Cruise China Maiden Voyage. The company announced an exclusive partnership with Royal Caribbean International’s premium brand, Celebrity Cruises – the Millennium ship, and launched four voyages to Japan and Korea from February 15 to March 1. Currently, Millennium ship cruise products are available on JD Travel and Tuniu.
The “Millennium” is a premium cruise ship under Royal Caribbean International’s Celebrity brand, known for its refined luxury. This marks its first entry into China through its partnership with JD. The Millennium is 294 meters long, has a tonnage of 91,000 tons, and can carry 2,158 passengers. It integrates cabins, services, facilities, and entertainment, offering guests the experience of being aboard a floating palace. It features the largest and most luxurious spa at sea covering 25,000 square feet, natural hot stone aromatherapy treatments, a theater, fitness center, ocean-view café, specialty lounges, and luxury on par with the finest hotels on land. The four voyages offered by JD Travel from February 15 to March 1, 2015, include Hong Kong–Shanghai, Shanghai–Fukuoka–Jeju Island–Shanghai, Shanghai–Jeju Island–Nagasaki–Shanghai, and Shanghai–Okinawa–Hong Kong. Covering the Spring Festival period, JD has specially added a New Year’s Eve dinner element to the routes, prepared by a Michelin two-star chef. Passengers will celebrate the lunar Year of the Sheep in spectacular fashion at sea.
As China’s largest self-operated e-commerce enterprise, JD.com is accelerating its expansion into the travel and lifestyle services sector. In June this year, the JD Travel channel was newly launched, with the revamped platform focusing on the concept of “quality travel.” Li Chao, Vice President of JD.com, stated that by leveraging JD’s big data platform and integrating its extensive product ecosystem, the company aims to offer customers the best travel routes and package combinations, further enhancing the one-stop comprehensive shopping experience. JD Cruises, a dedicated channel under JD Travel, provides professional cruise travel products and partners with major cruise lines including Royal Caribbean International, Costa Cruises, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Tianhai Cruises, MSC Cruises, Star Cruises, HNA Cruises, and Bohai Cruises. Key routes cover Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and Alaska. The exclusively contracted Celebrity Millennium is currently the highest-spec and most luxurious cruise ship in China’s cruise tourism market. Meanwhile, the JD Cruises channel continues to expand its selection of international routes to meet diverse travel needs.
Yu Dundei, Founder and CEO of Tuniu, said, “Tuniu’s cruise business is growing rapidly, has broad coverage, and holds a strong position in the mid-to-high-end market. The strategic cooperation between Tuniu and JD in the cruise sector aligns perfectly with Tuniu’s direction to accelerate its presence in the cruise market, and it brings our customers more access to premium cruise brands such as Celebrity Cruises.”
Industry analysts believe that JD.com’s exclusive contract with the high-end, luxury Millennium cruise ship from Royal Caribbean International, as it targets the year-end travel market, represents a strong implementation of the quality travel concept. It also demonstrates JD’s determination and capability to build a differentiated online travel platform.
About JD.com:
JD.com is China’s largest self-operated e-commerce enterprise. It provides consumers with a pleasant online shopping experience. Through its rich, user-friendly website (www.jd.com) and mobile app, JD offers a wide range of products and premium-quality goods and services at competitive prices, delivering them quickly and reliably. JD believes it has the largest warehousing infrastructure in China’s e-commerce industry. As of June 30, 2014, JD had seven logistics centers nationwide, 97 large warehouses in 39 cities, covering a total area of about 1.8 million square meters. It operated 1,808 delivery stations and 715 pickup points and lockers, covering 1,780 counties and districts across the country. JD provided same-day “211 Limited Time Delivery” service in 111 districts and counties, and next-day delivery service in another 622 districts and counties.